


After Ever After

by Seaweed_Sister



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Breaking expectations, Descendants 3 Spoilers, F/M, Fluff, Heroes and Villains, Internal Conflict, Internal Monologue, Movie: Descendants 3, New Beginnings, Once Upon A Time, Post-Descendants 3, Pressure from parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 07:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20239213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seaweed_Sister/pseuds/Seaweed_Sister
Summary: After the events of Descendants 3, everyone seems to have their happily ever after. But what does Audrey have? Other than a smoking hot pirate in her bed...In which Audrey assesses her life so far and decides to make her own Once Upon a Time.!!!DESCENDANTS 3 SPOILERS!!! Like seriously, there are so many spoilers in paragraph 4! You have been warned...





	After Ever After

She had done it again. First, after Ben’s coronation with Jay and now, after Ben and Mal’s engagement party...

Audrey lay in her bed, turning her head to glance at the sleeping form of Harry Hook. Her dainty silk sheets were spread across his tanned and battered skin, a satisfied smile on his smug face as he sank deeper into an overstuffed pillow. Yes, everyone she knew had an annoying habit of pairing off into perfect picturesque couples after every big event that they went to, but at least there was always one handsome bad boy left over that she could take home for the night.

And boy, had she needed it.

The past few days had been a living nightmare. Overrun by grief and humiliation by Ben and Mal’s engagement she had snapped; stolen the queen’s crown, fell under the lure of the magic scepter, and tortured all of Auradon. She wished that she could blame it all on that wicked scepter, but the worst part was, deep down, it had been her in control the whole time. She had wanted to hurt everyone and she did. 

To top it all off, she almost died, blasted by Mal and the ember she was knocked into a thick darkness, hung between life and death until Hades, of all people, mercifully pulled her back from the brink. There was a round of sweet ‘I’m sorrys’ and then that was it. No punishment, no consequences, nothing, like it never even happened, like it never even mattered.

Audrey sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. Wasn’t that just the way? Even when she almost destroyed all of Auradon, nothing she did mattered or had a lasting effect. All her life, she had done what she was told, listened intently to Grammy’s lectures about who she should be and what she should do. She had worked so hard, keeping Ben, the future king, close to her ever since she was small, winning his heart when they were older in order to secure her family’s station and reputation with the promise of a future betrothal, but then none of it mattered. Mal and her crew came to Auradon and all of Audrey’s, no, Grammy’s plans shattered.

Grammy’s plans. Sure, Audrey had wanted them too, a comfortable life and title as Queen of Auradon sounded great, but she had never been given a choice. Being queen was what was expected of her ever since she was born, there was no other options, and she had quickly lost herself in Grammy’s obsession. Grammy had taught her all the royal tricks, how to compliment a host, how to sit with grace and dignity, how to dance, how to pose when draped on a man’s arm, how to be still and quiet. And what good had all those lessons done for her? In the end, she just managed to turn into a spoiled brat.

Going momentarily evil had certainly held a mirror to herself, forcing her to confront the shallow and cruel girl she had become. She had been convinced all her life that she was better than everyone else, the future queen who everyone had to adore, who had every right to step on anyone it took in order to reach her preordained glory. To nurture that delusion, she had surrounded herself with other elites who were just as pretty and "popular" as she aspired to be, shallow and vague as she had become. Had anything of substance ever actually been said between her and those, so called, friends? Chad? She couldn’t believe how pathetic he had been when she turned the world to sleeping stone, but really he had always been that way, and so had she.

She thought back to when Mal had gone around spelling less popular girls to give them “cooler” hair. With that one insignificant change suddenly girls like Lonnie and Jane were worthy of sharing Audrey’s spot light, and honestly, it had been nice. She had never spoken to Lonnie or Jane before since she had dismissed them as losers, but they were both smart and fun. Those new copycat hairdos gave them the confidence to strut their stuff with chins held high, and yet after five minutes under Audrey’s influence those sweet girls had turned just as bitter and shallow as she was. Little minions, their individually and quirks all sucked away under the umbrella of Queen Audrey. It had been a mercy when Mal changed their hair back, and those girls were all the better for it now, finally confident in their own skin. 

She wondered if she would ever feel that way now that the Queen Audrey Dream was no longer a reality. In the end, Ben chose Mal, and even though she had spelled him to get him away from Audrey in the first place, it would have happened even if she didn’t. Audrey had seen the way Ben had looked at Mal when she first stepped out of that limo. On that fateful day, happily ever after had changed forever. And yes, Mal hadn’t had all of the extensive training that Audrey had lived under her whole life, and definitely wasn’t fully prepared for all of the politics and responsibilities of being Queen, but that girl could do anything she set her mind to, and she had a great group of friends to support her and back her up. 

Meanwhile, here was Audrey, in bed with a pirate while everyone else was having their perfect happy endings. They all knew who they were and what they wanted, and who they wanted to share those things with, but what did she want? What could she want?

The barrier was down, her obligations to be a future queen gone. Really, she could want anything. She was sure that Grammy was already scheming to insert her as queen of another kingdom, but that was no longer what she wanted, that much she was sure of at least. Everyone around her was free to do what they chose, have a new start, even the villains, so why couldn’t she be just as free?

She glanced down at Harry once more. He was the picture of freedom, disheveled hair, smudged eyeliner, and absolutely no cares or regards for what other people thought of him or his lack of manners. She had expected someone from the island, to be more horrible, repulsive, and yet he shone with charm and charisma, smelling of salty waves and petrichor. He was dazzling, and so unashamedly himself. It was easy to lose herself in the simple fantasy of a free and empowering life as a pirate, but a closer look at him showed all the messy details of his reality. His skin was etched with scars from slashes and burns, tattoos of stories and expectations. His father was Captain James Hook, after all, so the chances that Harry had a choice in becoming a pirate was slim, it was in his blood.

And didn’t it always come down to blood? Parents and their prospects, their legacies. Mal, Carlos, Jay, and Evie had each been tied down by those very forces when they first came to Auradon, believing that they had to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand because, simply, they had no other choice. 

It was shocking how similar she was to them, those villain kids. Of course, she had the privilege of wealth and comfort that they had all been deprived of on the island, but that crippling suffocation of being forced into your parent’s mold was no different. Audrey scoffed to herself, she may be from the mainland, but considering the shallow and bitter person she had become, she absolutely belonged in Fairy Godmother’s goodness class with all the VKs. When had she ever been good? Been selfless? Been brave?

Mal, Carlos, Jay, and Evie had broken out of their parents’ molds, Uma and her crew too, so why couldn’t she? She was sure she could, had to believe it. But if freedom meant doing what she wanted, she first had to know what that was. And the only thing that she knew for sure was that she knew absolutely nothing. 

Audrey chuckled to herself. Her world had been so small, so petty. Pressured by Grammy’s plans, she had only ever looked at her own surface, but never around her, and never truly inside of herself either. She had coasted through school, never bothered to take risks or try new things. Well, that right there was a start then. In order to find answers, she needed more information, more experiences. There was more to the world, to life, than being a simple princess, looking pretty and propping up a king, and she was eager to find it.

She resolved to see Fairy Godmother in the morning, discuss everything and learn about her options for entering university. She would work hard and finish summer school strong, and maybe even see Mal and get involved in her VK integration program. The barrier might be down, but there was still a long transition to smooth out while the island and mainland learned to live as one nation. She could be a part of that, she could listen and work to understand, she could be good. And isn’t that what a princess should do?

Audrey smiled to herself as she gripped the covers with determination.

“Who knew a princess could think so loudly, eh?” Harry’s sarcasm cut through her clarity like a knife, “stumped over an embroidery pattern, are we?”

“Nothing your simple pirate mind could possibly comprehend,” Audrey shot back with an insincere smile.

“Still feisty I see,” Harry chuckled as he propped himself up on his elbows, “I like that.”

“Isn’t it time you get going?” Audrey rolled her eyes dramatically.

“How can ye expect me to when there is clearly a damsel in distress here,” Harry purred as he moved to hover over Audrey, framing her with his toned arms and bringing his face close to her’s, “I could give ye something worth tossing and turning over, yeh? Ready for round two?”

Audrey smirked as she slowly angled her lips towards his before swiftly rolling him off of her with a firm shove. He gave another heart melting chuckle as he sunk back into the soft mattress, his limbs extended like a turtle stuck on its shell. Audrey calmly sat up and opened the drawer in her bedside table, fishing out a brush and busying herself with her long hair. “Goodnight Harry,” she dismissed him in a singsong tone.

Harry made a show of slowly getting out of the bed and squeezing back into his pants, sensually securing all the buckles in place as he fixed his intense stare on Audrey. She did her best to ignore him, hiding the fact that she very much enjoyed seeing his body on display. She chanced a quick look when he turned to retrieve his shirt from where it had been thrown earlier, smiling to herself at the memory. When he had located all of his effects, he crossed to Audrey’s side of the bed. Leaning down he reached out and slowly ran his hook through her shiny locks, “I give ye twenty-four hours before ye come beggin’ for another taste of me,” he whispered gruffly, all the while moving closer to her.

Audrey leaned back on her pillow, maintaining the gap between them before extending her leg, pressing her well-manicured toes into his chest, halting his progress. “That’s funny, because the only person I see here begging is you,” she quipped as she gave him a kick towards the door.

Harry’s face curled into a devilish smile, “We’ll see about that.” With a final chuckle, he spun around in a dramatic flourish of hips and shoulders. He glanced towards the vanity as he took quiet steps. Pausing, he considered a thought before reaching out with resolve and plucking one of her ribbons from where it hung on the mirror with his hook. Shamelessly, he twirled the stolen accessory as he sauntered out the door and into the night.

Audrey couldn’t help but giggle as she listened to his footsteps fade away, “I give him twelve hours.”

Placing her hairbrush back in the drawer, she paused as her eyes landed on her diary. Within its pages were scrawled details of her misery and failings, all her self-loathing and frantic deflections. She shuddered thinking about what all that pent-up anger had led her to, how it had tormented her so. She lifted the small pink book gently, taking one last look at its cover before tipping it neatly into the trashcan. The Audrey within those pages, Grammy's Audrey, was gone, and New Audrey made a note to buy herself a fresh diary in the morning.

She took a freeing breath, a weight lifting from her chest as she lay back on her pillows, running a shy hand over the warm spot that Harry had left behind. She really had needed this. Finally, she had a plan, a plan that was her’s, that she had chosen all by herself. She knew that she had a long road ahead of her, and that it would be a lot of work, after all, she had a lot to make up for, but she was up for the challenge and all of the rewards that were sure to follow, including another possible fling with a certain pirate. “Not bad for a once upon a time,” she sighed, closing her eyes and falling into a peaceful sleep.


End file.
